Such a vehicle has been known from DE 32 14 955-C2. To make it possible to mount both the gearshift lever and the hand brake lever, which is designed as a single double lever, from below, the two levers are arranged in the prior-art arrangement one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the gearshift lever in front of the hand brake lever, on a common support, which is placed on a plate of the underbody before connection to the body. Since the hand brake lever must have a certain length to reduce the physical forces necessary for its operation, it can be accommodated only behind the gearshift lever, so that the length of the support of the two levers depends on the necessary distance between the two levers. The cutout of the body tunnel in the center of the vehicle must be reasonably large to make it possible to introduce and install both levers from below through this cutout during the connection of the underbody to the body. The hand brake lever blocks a considerable space for another meaningful use in the passenger compartment.
In addition, a short-arm brake lever with a leverage-increasing mechanism acting progressively as a function of the pivoting of the lever, which is installed in vehicle models of the firm of Mercedes-Benz AG, has been known from a document of the firm of STOPFIX-BREMSE, Schroter & Co. GmbH, Bunsenweg 11, 82538 Geretsried. This short-arm hand brake lever, which is also arranged in the longitudinal center of the vehicle behind the gearshift lever, acts during its pivoting by a leverage-increasing mechanism, e.g., a possibly spring-supported cam roller mechanism, with an increase in operating force. The assembly dimensions for the hand brake lever are reduced as a result, but the mounting is carried out in the manner generally practiced in the automobile industry, from the top, through the passenger compartment, after connecting the underbody to the body.